Tom Bowser of Argaty Red Kites is so far the only person in Scotland to give death row beavers a sanctuary on his land.
With beavers dividing opinion among landowners and the public alike, we asked Tom how he went from reluctant farmer to conservationist promoting beavers as good news for the countryside.
Having grown up on Lerrocks Farm, which is home to the red kite centre, Tom admits farming “was never really me.”
Lerrocks Farm has been in the Bowser family since 1916, but the actual farming is now contracted out.
“I was much more interested, as a kid, in art and music and things like that – skills that aren’t really useful in the countryside.”
‘Lightning bolt moment’
He left Lerrocks as a teenager and studied geography and “various different, useless degrees”.
After dabbling in journalism and primary teaching, he found himself back where he started, at the farm near Doune.
He says he had a “lightning bolt moment” when Argaty’s former head ranger left for pastures new.
“He was really passionate and he taught me loads.
“I thought I can’t continue farming, it’s not what I want to do, but there is a business here that I could maybe take on.”
He adds: “I like that I haven’t come from this background. I wasn’t a lifelong conservationist or anything like that.
“That maybe motivates me more to make it work.”
Tom says he spent years “on the wrong path” but has found his niche thanks to the kites and squirrels at Lerrocks. He has written about his journey in his book, A Sky Full of Kites.
But what about those beavers?
Two groups of five beavers have already been released at Argaty.
The animals had been causing problems for farmers in Tayside and would otherwise have been culled.
Another two are expected to arrive on Tom’s land later this year.
‘Fishing mission’
The story started two years ago, when Tom’s friend James Nairne – a trustee for the Scottish Wild Beaver Group – came to Argaty on a mission.
Argaty Red Kites is a feeding station which Tom’s family established after the birds of prey – reintroduced to the area in the 1990s – flocked to the farm.
Squirrel hides and wildlife events were later added as the business grew.
“I could tell he was on a bit of a fishing mission, that he wanted something.”
James was looking for someone prepared to let beavers loose on their land.
Tom says beavers were already living a few miles away and it was only a matter of time before they reached Lerrocks Farm anyway.
And, with a growing interest in conservation, Tom saw it as a way to boost biodiversity.
“There’s no doubt that beavers, environmentally, are a really good thing. And there’s no doubt that environmentally we’re in a really bad place.”
Greens’ campaign to protect beavers
When Tom first considered taking on relocated beavers, the Scottish Government had yet to announce a move towards proactively boosting beaver numbers.
Since then, the SNP has joined forces with the Scottish Greens. This has been accompanied by a policy shift towards granting translocation, rather than lethal, licences where beavers come into conflict with farmers and landowners.
However, so far Tom is not aware of anyone other than himself who has applied for a beaver translocation licence.
Tom says although many supported his decision to release beavers at Argaty, “the opposition was fairly hard to deal with.”
But those who aren’t a fan of beavers may have to get used to the idea.
“They will spread,” says Tom.
“They will be everywhere eventually and that will cause people sometimes the occasional bit of difficulty. But for the environment it will be great.
“What we did with the kites originally was trying to explain that they’re a good thing and they weren’t a danger. I think I did quite a good job of converting people. So I hope we can do the same with the beavers.
“Maybe projects like this can help explain why they are important.”
